Buckle.



G. A. WHELAN.

BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED 1113.2, 1911.

1,020,731. Patented Mar.19, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII CO1.'A5|HNUTON. n14:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. WHELAN, OF BUENA VISTA, COLORADO.

BUCKLE.

Application filed February 2, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. \VnaLAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buena Vista, in the county of Chatlee and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckles; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in buckles.

One object of the invention is to improve and simplify the form of buckle shown in my United States Patent application Serial No. 547,044, allowed Nov. 1, 1910.

Another object of the invention is to provide a buckle having an improved construction and arrangement of tongue, and means whereby the strap may be quickly engaged with the buckle and tongue, and thus securely held by the binding engagement of the tongue therewith.

A further object is to provide a buckle by means of which the end of a strap may be secured without the necessity of perforating and thus weakening the strap.

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package fastened by a strap having my improved buckle applied thereto, and showing the manner in which the strap is engaged with and secured by the buckle; Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the buckle and a portion of the strap; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the same; Fig. 4 is an edge view of the buckle and strap; Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the same on the line 55 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the buckle showing a modified form and arrangement of strap receiving member.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 denotes the body portion of the buckle, said body portion being formed from a flat metal plate which may be of any suitable shape and which is here shown as being of oblong 0r rectangular form. In one end of the plate is formed a transverse strap receiving slot 2, in which is secured one end Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1912.

Serial No. 606,141.

of a strap The slot 2 is enlarged on one side midway between its ends to form a notch 4, which is adapted to be engaged with a nail or similar device for hanging up the buckle and strap.

The inner end of the plate beyond the slot 2 is bent or curved upwardly as shown at 5 and in said upwardly curved portion is formed a transverse strap holding notch or open ended slot (3 with which is adapted to be engaged the end of the strap after the latter has been secured by the fastening mechanism hereinafter described. The corner of the outer end of the notch 6 in the upwardly curved portion of the plate is provided with an inwardly projecting rounded lug 7 which will prevent the lateral slipping or casual disengagcn'ient of the strap from the notch. In the plate or body 1, a suitable distance from the slot 2, is formed a second notch or strap fastening slot 8, which opens through one edge of the buckle at the side opposite the opening of the slot (3, as shown.

Loosely connected to the plate or body of the buckle between the slot 2 and notch 8, is a strap engaging plate 9, the inner end of which is provided with laterally spaced longitudinally extending slits forming a plurality of tongues in two alternating series, the tongues 10 of one series being bent downwardly through a transverse slot and thence rearwardly normally parallel with and resting against the under side of the body plate, the tongues 12 of the other series extending rearwardly above the body plate normally at a slight angle thereto. The vertical portions of the tongues 10 are adapted to engage the inner wall of the slot 11, which slot is formed in the plate 1 adjacent the open slot or notch 8, whereby the plate 9 is loosely held in position and permitted to swing upwardly, such movement being limited by the engagement of the slightly inclined ends of the tongues 12. When the plate 9 is connected with the plate or body 1, as described, the forward edge of said plate will overlap the open slot, or notch 8, a suilicient distance to space the inner edge of the bar 8' slightly from the front edge of said plate 9, thus forming between said edges a strap receiving opening 13.

In order to fasten the end of the strap, after the same has been passed around the package or articles to be fastened thereby, the free end of the strap is slipped into the space 13 between the edge of the clamping plate 9 and the adjacent edge of the slot 8, whereby the strap will be securely clamped by the plate against the adjacent edge of the end bar thus preventing any backward movement of the strap through the buckle. By thus securing the strap, any backward pull thereon will simply cause the clamping plate 9 to more tightly grip or bind the strap. In order to facilitate the engagement of the strap with the plate 9, the outer corner of the forward edge of the clamping plate 9 is slightly rounded as is also the inner forward corner thereof as shown at 14 whereby, when the strap is drawn into engagement with the edge of the buckle, the inner edge of the strap will tend to curl or bind around the corner of the clamping plate 9 and will thus aid in holding the strap from slipping laterally out of the space 13. In order to further prevent the strap from becoming disengaged from the slot 8 I provide the free end of the bar 8 with a rounded inwardly projecting lug 13 After the strap has been engaged with the space 13 and secured by the clamping plate 9 the end of the strap is engaged with the notch or slot 6 in the curved inner end of the plate as hereinbefore described, and thus held in place.

In Fig. 6 of the drawing the buckle is shown as having on its outer face near its inner end a laterally projecting spring finger or rod 15 one end of which is bent down and secured to the plate forming the buckle. The opposite or free end of the finger 15 is bent upwardly to a slight extent to facilitate the engagement of the end of the strap with the space between the finger and the upper side of the plate whereby said end of the strap will be held in place.

A buckle constructed as herein shown and described will be simple, strong, durable and inexpensive in construction, efficient and reliable in operation, and is adapted to receive and secure the end of a strap much more quickly than the common or ordinary form of buckle.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.-

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is A buckle comprising a body plate provided with a transverse slot and a transverse end bar parallel with the slot, and a strap-engaging plate resting on the body plate'and having its free edge adjacent and parallel with the transverse end bar leaving a space to receive a strap, the opposite end of the strap-engaging plate being provided with tongues passing through the slot and bent to lie parallel with the bottom of the body plate, and alternating tongues projecting across and beyond the slot and lying adjacent the top of the body plate, the last named tongues being at a slight angle to the top of the body plate and serving to limit the movement of the plate and thus limit the width of the strapreceiving openlng.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES A. WHELAN.

Witnesses:

M. E. MAsoN, FRANK HARRISON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

